After posting a whooping 444 runs on the board, the highest ever in the One Day Internationals, England beat Pakistan by 169 runs as the visiting team could manage only 275 at the end of day.
Advertisement
The opener’s landmark knock on his home ground helped England pile up the highest total by any team in ODI history, their 444-3 surpassing Sri Lanka’s 443-9 against Holland in 2006.
It was also the highest ODI total in a match between two Test nations, topping South Africa’s 439 for two against the West Indies at Johannesburg previous year.
Jos Buttler made a dashing 90 not out, that included England’s fastest ODI 50 – off just 22 balls.
Captain Eoin Morgan can also call on the experience of prolific batsman Joe Root, who is named in the squad alongside all-rounder Moeen Ali and Alex Hales.
With this latest record, the hosts passed their previous highest total of 408 for nine, made against New Zealand a year ago, while captain Morgan got to his half-century off 24 deliveries as he and Buttler shared an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 161.
It all began with Alex Hales hitting England’s highest individual score of 171 runs.
Amir’s half-century was the first by a number 11 in ODIs.
Unbeaten in all their nine limited-overs matches so far this summer, England are therefore Royal London Series winners – having taken a 3-0 lead with two to play.
Unbeaten in white-ball cricket this season, another victory here will put them 3-0 up with only two to play – and it soon became hard to see how Pakistan might get competitive.
England hit 59 boundaries – the most conceded in an ODI – after a poor fielding display by Pakistan.
Chris Woakes has become the fourth player to admit he is not yet able to commit to the tour – although he stressed Dickason’s reassurances do carry weight with the team, and confirmed discussions are ongoing even through the current series with European Central Bank director Andrew Strauss and others.
Hales on 72 pulled Riaz to deep square leg only for third umpire Marais Erasmus to correctly rule the bowler, who often over-steps, had no-balled. Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz was their most expensive bowler and he returned with figures of 0/110 in his allotted 10 overs.
Hales finished with 171 off 122 balls including 22 fours and four sixes.
But Amir weighed in
memorably with a defiant 50, completed with three successive sixes off Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid as his and Yasir’s 10th-wicket stand of 76 proved easily Pakistan’s best.
Advertisement
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali admitted it was a “very tough” chase for his side and also reserved praise for England’s batsmen.
